Interviews

Singer Eddie Day Pashinski Went From Doo Wop To Capitol Dome

Many politicians are described as rock stars due to their natural charisma or zealous supporters.

Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski actually is one.

Starting in the early 1960′s, Pashinski led a number of rock bands, recorded singles and even ran his own concert venues. For much of that time, his band hauled their equipment in a Packard hearse.

“We would be drawing a thousand people when we’d play on a weekend night, 500 or 600 on a week night,” said the Luzerne County Democrat. “It was the thing to do.”

Pashinski, who also worked for more than three decades as a music teacher, became a passionate advocate for health care reform. Those activities ultimately led him to pursue an open seat in the House of Representatives in 2006.

During the campaign, he naturally merged his given name with his stage moniker: “Eddie Day.”

“The word started to get out,” he said. “This is Eddie Day . . . so all of that started to play a role in helping me garner enough votes to beat two very, very qualified candidates at the time.”